Why did attitudes to poverty change Why did attitudes to poverty change?/ Why did the Liberals introduce social reforms?

There are several reasons why attitudes to poverty began to change. The surveys of Booth and Rowntree. The Boer War and concerns for the British Empire. The growth of democracy in Britain. The growth of trade unions. The threat of the new Labour Party. ‘New Liberalism’. The German model.

Booth Which city did Booth study? What was the name of his report? When was the report published? What % of people did Booth find to be living in poverty? What % of people did Booth find to be receiving help from the Poor Law? What classes of people did Booth find to be living in poverty?

Rowntree Which city did Rowntree study? What was the name of his report? When was the report published? What % of people did Rowntree find to be living in poverty? Explain Rowntree’s concept of the ‘poverty line’.

The Boer War and Concerns for the British Empire When was the Boer War fought and who were the British fighting? Overall, what fraction of recruits for this war were rejected as being ‘unfit’ for service? In which areas were these figures higher? (Give an example.) For what reasons were these recruits rejected? Why did this worry the British Government? Explain the meaning of concerns about NATIONAL EFFICIENCY.

The Growth of Democracy in Britain After reforms in and , in 10 men could vote. Most of these men were members of the . Therefore, the Liberal Government realised that reforms to help the working class and the were needed or these people would vote for another . POOR, PARTY, WORKING CLASS, 1884, 6, 1867

The Growth of Trade Unions By 1900 there were million trade union members in Britain. This meant that now skilled and workers were represented by trade unions. These people expected the government to pass laws to protect them from and unfair . The Liberals were also worried because the trade unions supported the new party. UNSKILLED, LABOUR, 2, EMPLOYERS, UNEMPLOYMENT

The Threat of the Labour Party The Labour Party was formed in 1900. It was a socialist party, formed by the trade unions. 1. Use your textbooks (p28) to explain what socialists argued and what socialists felt strongly about. 2. How many seats did the Labour Party win in 1906 and 1910? What did the Labour Party promise to tackle? Why did this pressurise the Liberal Party into considering social reform?

New Liberalism The Liberal Party won the 1906 General Election with a huge majority in Parliament. In the new Liberal Government there were some MPs who were interested in the problem of poverty. They were known as the New Liberals. Use your text book (p30) to explain who the two leading ‘New Liberals’ were. Read the rest of pp30 - 31

The German Model Several important social reforms had been introduced in Germany, about 20 years before the Liberals came to power in Britain in 1906. These included Old Age Pensions and National Insurance to insure workers against sickness and unemployment. Unflattering comparisons were made between Germany, which had a welfare system and Britain, which did not. This was particularly important because Germany was Britain’s main rival in Europe at this time. Lloyd George visited Germany in 1908 to study their welfare system and decided to introduce similar reforms in Britain.